Monday, July 31, 2017

James McCloughan, 1st hero to receive Medal of Honor from President Trump- slideshow

President Donald Trump awarded the nation's highest military honor Monday to a Vietnam War veteran who saved wounded soldiers from a kill zone despite his own serious injuries.

Army medic James McCloughan, a 71-year-old from South Haven, Mich., received the Medal of Honor for actions in combat. McCloughan's recognition, which took place at a White House ceremony, is Trump's first time presenting the award.

McCloughan found himself in the two-day long Battle of Hui Yon Hill in Vietnam in 1969 when he was a private first class at 23 years old.

The White House last month said McCloughan "voluntarily risked his life on nine separate occasions to rescue wounded and disoriented comrades. He suffered wounds from shrapnel and small arms fire on three separate occasions, but refused medical evacuation to stay with his unit, and continued to brave enemy fire to rescue, treat, and defend wounded Americans."

McCloughan recalled his shrapnel injuries as "a real bad sting" and said, "I was tending to two guys and dragging them at the same time into a trench line."

The retired medic said he looked down, saw himself covered in blood with a wound so bad it prompted a captain to suggest that he leave the battlefield to seek treatment.

"He knew me enough to know that I wasn't going," McCloughan said of the captain.

CHARLIE LITEKY, WHO GAVE BACK HIS MEDAL OF HONOR, DIES

The combat medic stayed until the battle ended, coming to the aid of his men and fighting the enemy, even knocking out an enemy RPG position with a grenade at one point.

The Pentagon credits Spc. Jim McCloughan with saving the lives of 10 members of his company.

The Medal of Honor is given to Armed Forces members who distinguish themselves by going above and beyond the call of duty in battle.

McCloughan previously earned the Combat Medical Badge, two Bronze Stars, the U.S. Army Valorous Unit Citation and the National Defense Medal, in addition to two Purple Hearts.

McCloughan left the Army in 1970. He later spent decades teaching psychology and sociology and coaching football, baseball and wrestling at South Haven High School. He retired in 2008.

In 2016, Defense Secretary Ash Carter recommended McCloughan for the Medal of Honor. But since the medal must be awarded within five years of the recipient's actions, Congress needed to pass a bill waiving the time limit.

2 DESTROYERS TO BE NAMED FOR MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS

President Barack Obama signed the measure in late 2016, but he didn't get the opportunity to recognize McCloughan with the medal before his term ended this year.

"President Donald Trump will be putting that on me for the first time in his experience of doing such a thing," McCloughan said. "That's pretty special."

Gaffney is the founder and president of the Center for Security Policy, a Washington-based national security policy think tank.

“I would have one message [to President Trump],” Gaffney told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “He must drain the swamp. Most especially with respect to the personnel in his own administration.”

The slew of current government employees that are still loyal to former President Barack Obama are stymieing Trump’s foreign policy agenda, according to Gaffney. He believes that six months into Trump’s presidency, there have been many lost opportunities due to this fact.

The slew of current government employees that are still loyal to former President Barack Obama are stymieing Trump’s foreign policy agenda, according to Gaffney. He believes that six months into Trump’s presidency, there have been many lost opportunities due to this fact.

Trump strong-arms ObamaCare back to table; holdout Collins says 'job is not done'

By Joseph WeberPublished July 30, 2017
Fox News

Now PlayingPresident Trump warns he'll cut Congress' health care

Senate Republicans ended July in humiliating and seemingly final defeat over repealing and replacing ObamaCare, but relentless pressure this weekend from President Trump and reports of yet another potentially winning bill has sparked renewed hope of success within the party.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., reportedly has a new overhaul plan for the Senate, where senators will returned Monday because Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has revoked the first two weeks of their traditional August recess.

Trump also met privately with several Senate Republicans on Friday, according to Politico, which also first reported about the Graham proposal.

TWO would-be father and son terror teams linked by marriage are allegedly behind a plot to blow up an international flight out of Sydney using a homemade bomb disguised as a kitchen mincer.

Until last week the four men — the fathers aged in their 40s — were totally unknown to the nation’s counter-terrorism authorities with only one conviction for negligent driving between them.

But that all changed when police picked up a “small piece of intelligence” about the possible “Islamist-inspired” plot to use a crude homemade bomb. It is believed the plot involved smuggling the device onto a flight bound for the Middle East, possibly Dubai, hidden in carry-on luggage.

Liberal news outlets work overtime to hide a huge Democratic scandal and more crazy media misses this week
Dan Gainor

By Dan GainorPublished July 29, 2017
Fox News

Now Playing
Feds arrest Debbie Wasserman Schultz's former IT staffer

Watching news outlets go out of their way to hide a potentially huge Democratic scandal is almost funny. So-called journalists are too busy covering presidential tweets to report on a topic that might embarrass their friends.

Welcome to the Imran Awan-Debbie Wasserman Schultz scandal or Compugrab, as I like to call it.

Awan was the top IT aide to Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The FBI reportedly “seized smashed computer hard drives” from his home. He was “arrested trying to flee to Pakistan after wiring almost $300,000 to the country,” according to The Daily Caller, which has owned the story because it does actual news reporting.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson lashed out at Russia and China early Saturday, following North Korea’s second test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile – and reports that Kim Jong Un’s regime was now capable of striking cities on the U.S. mainland.

Tillerson labeled the two U.S. rivals the “principal economic enablers” of North Korea’s weapons programs, and called on them to ramp up efforts to curb the growing nuclear threat from Pyongyang.

“All nations should take a strong public stance against North Korea by maintaining and strengthening U.N. sanctions to ensure North Korea will face consequences for its relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them,” Tillerson said.

China has reportedly pressed North Korea to abide by all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and cease any actions that could escalate tensions.

Meanwhile, President Trump condemned North Korea’s action as “reckless and dangerous,” and said the U.S. will take all “necessary steps” to protect itself and its allies.

Kim expressed “great satisfaction” following the ICBM test. The missile traveled 620 miles until landing in waters near Japan, according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency.

Analysts now believe Pyongyang’s weapons can hit U.S. cities such as Los Angeles or Chicago.

Tillerson said the U.S. wants a peaceful resolution to denuclearize North Korea, adding that Washington “will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea.”
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The United States "will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea."
- Rex Tillerson, U.S. secretary of state

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The secretary of state was in contact with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. They planned to work closely with South Korea on a U.N. Security Council resolution to crack down on the rogue North, Japan’s Kyodo News Service reported Saturday.

Following North Korea’s ICBM launch, forces from the U.S. and its ally South Korea conducted joint military exercises in the region that included the launch of a barrage of missiles of their own.

South Korea has stepped up its military presence along the Korean Peninsula in recent weeks, and was considering deploying additional anti-missile systems. The recent ICBM test has also prompted South Korea to discuss with the U.S. increasing the warhead limit of their missiles from 1,100 pounds, to a ton.

Friday, July 28, 2017

North Korea just fired another missile. Here's what Trump must do right now

By Harry J. KazianisPublished July 28, 2017
Fox News

Now Playing
Pentagon confirms North Korea missile launch

North Korea once again launched a missile Friday, advancing its quest to develop the ability to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear warhead.

The launch made it feel like the world is living through an updated version of the 1993 film “Groundhog Day” – North Korean style. But rather than being a fantasy-comedy about a man reliving the same day over and over, as was the original film starring Bill Murray, the 2017 reboot is a real-life horror story that could end with the deaths of millions of people in a nuclear war.

We all know the drill by now: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, the portly Pariah of Pyongyang, fires off a test missile or detonates a nuclear bomb and boasts about how he will soon be able to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile that could reach America. The media covers it all. Talking heads like yours truly go on TV and write op-eds to explain the danger we are all facing, while suggesting ways to avert disaster.

House Judiciary Republicans Call For Second Special Counsel To Investigate Clinton, Comey, Lynch

Photo of Chuck RossChuck RossReporter9:56 PM 07/27/2017

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are asking the Justice Department to appoint a second special counsel, this one to investigate Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Judiciary Republicans say they want a second investigator to match Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is conducting a sprawling investigation of the Trump campaign and various Trump associates.

“The unbalanced, uncertain, and seemingly unlimited focus of the special counsel’s investigation has led many of our constituents to see a dual standard of justice that benefits only the powerful and politically well-connected,” the Republicans say.

In their letter, the Republicans list 14 separate categories they say should be investigated by the additional special counsel.

They are calling for a deeper investigation of Hillary Clinton and her potential mishandling of classified information.

The Republicans are also questioning why the Justice Department did not impanel a grand jury to look into the mishandling of classified information. They also want to look into Comey’s recent claim that he was ordered by Lynch to publicly refer to the Clinton email probe as a “matter” instead of an investigation.

Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee last month that he was “confused and concerned” by Lynch’s request.

Regarding Comey, the Republicans want the special counsel to look into “any and all potential leaks originated by Mr. Comey and provide to author Michael Schmidt dating back to 1993.”

Schmidt is a New York Times reporter who has broken a number of stories about the ongoing Trump-Russia probe, as well as about memos that Comey wrote after his meetings earlier this year with Trump.

After he was fired by Trump on May 9, Comey leaked those memos to a friend, Columbia University Law School professor Daniel Richman. At Comey’s direction, Richman read portions of the memos to Schmidt. Comey testified last month that he leaked the memos in order to force the appointment of a special counsel.

Rosenstein did just that days later.

One memo relayed to Schmidt discussed Comey’s Feb. 14 discussion with Trump about Michael Flynn, who had been fired as Trump’s national security director the day before.

Comey said that Trump asked him to back off of an investigation of Flynn.

The special counsel should also look into leaks of classified information, including the unmasking of Trump administration officials, by the Obama administration, the Republicans say. The letter suggest that the leak probe should focus on Comey, Lynch, former national security adviser Susan Rice, and former United Nations Amb. Samantha Power.

The Republicans, led by Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the committee’s chairman, also want the special counsel to investigate the FBI’s reliance on an anti-Trump dossier created by Fusion GPS, an opposition research firm that was working for an ally of Clinton’s.

The FBI used the dossier to form the basis of part of its investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Kremlin.

“You have the ability now to right the ship for the American people so these investigations may proceed independently and impartially. The American public has a right to know the facts — all of them — surrounding the election and its aftermath,” the Republicans state in their letter.

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee is accusing top political aides of President Obama of making hundreds of requests during the 2016 presidential race to unmask the names of Americans in intelligence reports, including Trump transition officials.

Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), in a letter to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, said the requests were made without specific justifications on why the information was needed.

“We have found evidence that current and former government officials had easy access to U.S. person information and that it is possible that they used this information to achieve partisan political purposes, including the selective, anonymous leaking of such information,” Nunes wrote in the letter to Coats.

The letter was provided to The Hill from a source in the intelligence community.

In March, Nunes disclosed that he had seen data suggesting Trump campaign and transition officials were having their names unmasked by departing officials in the Obama White House.

General Mark Milley: Pyongyang 'gets more dangerous as the weeks go by'

U.S. Army Gen. Mark A. Milley / Getty Images

BY: Natalie Johnson Follow @nataliejohnsonn
July 27, 2017 4:45 pm

The Army chief of staff cautioned on Thursday that North Korea's successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this month significantly shortened the amount of time for American officials to broker a diplomatic solution with Pyongyang.

"Time is running out a bit," Gen. Mark Milley said in remarks at the National Press Club. "North Korea is extremely dangerous, and it gets more dangerous as the weeks go by."

Milley said the July 4 test of an ICBM capable of reaching the United States showed that North Korea's military capabilities had advanced significantly and faster than many anticipated.

Taxpayer-funded sex-change surgeries would cost the Pentagon $1.3 billion over 10 years.

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that transgender individuals will not be eligible to serve in the military, with the White House citing cost and military readiness concerns.

Internal data provided to the Washington Free Beacon from Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R., Mo.), a leading opponent of taxpayer-funded sex changes, show that even by using a conservative estimate, the costs associated with 0.7 percent of the military population is great.

Hartzler's office provided a detailed calculation that shows estimates of the current number of transgender service members, and the number likely to seek a taxpayer-funded gender transition.

Republicans in Congress have joined the White House in asking questions about the extent to which a Democratic Party consultant may have worked with Ukrainian officials to hurt then-candidate Donald Trump's presidential bid last year.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley wrote a letter earlier this week to the Justice Department asking whether the Democratic National Committee broke the law. Grassley, R-Iowa, specifically asked if the DOJ was investigating Alexandra Chalupa, a Ukrainian-American DNC consultant who allegedly had meetings at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C., to discuss incriminating information about Trump campaign officials.

President Trump, trying furiously to tamp down the controversy over alleged Russian coordination with his associates, has questioned why the same scrutiny is not being applied to the Democrats' alleged Ukraine connection.

In a Tuesday tweet, he complained about the lack of an investigation into Ukraine efforts to "sabotage" his campaign.

Migrants Overwhelm German Courts with Asylum Lawsuits: ‘This Will Paralyze Us for Years’

Angela Merkel / Reuters

BY: Paul Crookston Follow @P_CrookstonJuly 26, 2017 6:53 pm

Migrants are overwhelming the German court system as hundreds of thousands have appealed rulings denying them refugee status.

Many migrants are suing after being granted "subsidiary protection" status by the German authorities, seeking to become full refugeees, the Washington Post reports. Those with subsidiary protection status can stay in Germany for up to three years, but do not have the right to reunify with family.

Two-thirds of cases in Berlin's administrative court are from asylum seekers, as 250,000 appeals are pending across the country Germany.

"This will paralyze us for years," a judge told Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel concerning the build up of lawsuits.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) has been discharged from the hospital and started rehabilitation a month and a half after he was critically injured in a mass shooting at a congressional baseball practice in Virginia, MedStar Washington Hospital Center said in a statement Wednesday.

The hospital said Scalise has made “excellent progress in his recovery from a life-threatening gunshot wound six weeks ago,” adding that he was discharged Tuesday and has begun intensive inpatient rehabilitation.

"He is in good spirits and is looking forward to his return to work once he completes rehabilitation,” the statement said. “He and his family are grateful for the care he received from the trauma team as well as the other doctors, nurses, and staff of MedStar Washington Hospital Center. The family also appreciates the outpouring of prayers and support during this time."

Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in House leadership and the party’s top vote-counter, nearly lost his life on June 14, when a gunman opened fire on Republican lawmakers, aides and lobbyists practicing in Alexandria for the annual charity Congressional Baseball Game.

Scalise, 51, was shot in the hip, suffering broken bones, damage to his internal organs and major blood loss. During the next several weeks, Scalise was in and out of the intensive-care unit, battling infections as he recovered.

The others shot in the melee were congressional aide Zack Barth, lobbyist Matt Mika and Capitol Police special agent Crystal Griner, a member of Scalise’s security detail.

The shooter, James Hodgkinson, was fatally wounded during the 10-minute shootout in the usually quiet Alexandria neighborhood of Del Rey, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

In recent days, there were signs that Scalise was making significant progress. On Monday, Scalise called into his weekly whip meeting to thank his team for their hard work and to let them know he was ready to return to the Capitol soon.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) tweeted his support after the hospital’s news.

Awesome news. Can’t wait to have you back to work, @SteveScalise. https://t.co/arVbvNocNZ

— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) July 26, 2017

Scalise’s top ally, Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), has been filling in for the Louisiana Republican during his absence.

A tech worker for Debbie Wasserman Schultz was arrested on Tuesday while attempting to flee the country after the FBI seized a smashed hard drive from his house in an ongoing federal probe, a report said.

The feds nabbed Pakistani-born Imran Awan — who was the target of a federal investigation for allegedly being involved in theft and IT abuses while working for the Democratic National Committee, according to The Daily Caller.

The FBI obtained the hard drives from Awan’s house amid a probe into “serious, potentially illegal, violations on the House IT network.”

Awan and his two younger brother have worked for the DNC and had access to emails and files from members of Congress, the website said.

A House IT staffer at the center of a congressional computer equipment scandal has been arrested by federal officials and charged with bank fraud, Fox News has learned.

Fox News is told officers and agents from the U.S. Capitol Police, the FBI and Customs and Border Protection were involved in the arrest of Imran Awan at Dulles International Airport.

Awan, 37, of Virginia, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to one count of bank fraud during his arraignment in federal court in Washington, D.C. He was released but will have to wear a GPS monitor and abide by a curfew.

Awan also was ordered to turn over all his passports. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 21.

Law enforcements authorities for months have been looking into how Awan may have double-billed the House for equipment like computers, iPads, monitors, keyboards and routers. Several relatives of Awan worked for House Democrats and were fired months ago. Awan, however, was kept on staff by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., even though he was no longer allowed access to the House server network.

Wasserman Schultz, though, has now fired Awan. Spokesman David Damron said Tuesday in a statement:

"Mr. Awan previously served as a part-time employee but his services have been terminated. No charges, evidence or findings from the investigation have been formally shared with our office, so we cannot comment on them."

Authorities also have looked into IT workers putting sensitive House information on the “cloud” and potentially exposing it to outside sources.

Fox News is told that federal officials arrested Awan at Dulles airport in suburban Virginia as he was “trying to leave the country.”

House Easily Passes Sanction Package Against Russia, Iran, North Korea

The legislation would curb Trump's ability to lift or relax sanctions

Getty Images

BY: Natalie Johnson Follow @nataliejohnsonnJuly 25, 2017 5:14 pm

The House on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation that would impose additional sanctions against Russia for its interference in the 2016 election and ongoing aggression in Ukraine and Syria.

The new bill, passed by a vote of 419 to 3, would significantly limit President Donald Trump's ability to relax or terminate sanctions despite pushback from White House officials who argue the measure impedes the president's executive authority to conduct foreign policy.

The legislation also contains new sanctions against Iran and North Korea, two adversaries the Trump administration has sought to punish for their ballistic missile testing.

McCain, 80, was diagnosed with brain cancer after an operation in Phoenix. McCain was in Arizona resting after his procedure and diagnosis before returning to the Senate on Tuesday. With McCain's "aye" vote the Senate was split 50-50 and Vice President Mike Pence voted to break the tie and move the bill forward.

"My service here is the most important job I've had in my life and I'm so grateful, so grateful to the people of Arizona for the privilege, for the honor of serving here and the opportunities it gives me to play a small role in the history of the country that I love," McCain said in a speech on the Senate floor after the motion to proceed to debate on the bill passed.

Beijing bolsters defenses along its 880-mile frontier and realigns forces in surrounding regions

By Jeremy PageJuly 24, 2017 4:40 p.m. ET

BEIJING—China has been bolstering defenses along its 880-mile frontier with North Korea and realigning forces in surrounding regions to prepare for a potential crisis across their border, including the possibility of a U.S. military strike.

A review of official military and government websites and interviews with experts who have studied the preparations show that Beijing has implemented many of the changes in recent months after...

Now PlayingThomas Homan: Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime

The horrific incident involving dozens of immigrants allegedly smuggled into the U.S. in a sweltering tractor-trailer is proof that illegal immigration is “not a victimless crime,” the acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News on Monday.

“It's a message I've been trying to get out as long as I've been the acting ICE director,” Thomas Homan said on "Your World with Neil Cavuto."

Federal authorities have since charged the alleged driver of the tractor-trailer, James Mathew Bradley Jr., 60, of Clearwater, Fla., with transporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Investigators found the packed truck at a Walmart in San Antonio over the weekend. Ten people who were inside the truck have died.

“Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime,” Homan argued. “These folks, they contract with criminal organizations. These organizations are the same organizations that smuggle drugs, they smuggle weapons, smuggle people that want to do harm to this country. You talk about drug cartels…are talking about smuggling folks. These are not victimless crimes,” he said.

10TH VICTIM DIES IN SAN ANTONIO HUMAN TRAFFICKING CASE

“When you're victimized as an illegal alien or somebody stealing your social security number or your credit rating goes to zero because someone took your identity. This is not a victimless crime,” Homan continued. “Those folks that want to turn a blind eye to illegal immigration, this is what happens. There's real consequences, this is a life-and-death decision that these people make.”

Entering the U.S. illegally is a crime, Homan said, and it should be treated as such.

“That is why the message needs to be clear: we're going to enforce the laws of this country,” he said. “If you enter illegally, if it's a crime, and if you think you're going to be safe in a sanctuary city, that is a message I'm trying to get. Sanctuary cities can choose not to cooperate with ICE and choose to shield people from detection. I'm going to send additional resources and we're going to find these people. We're going to enforce the law without apology.”

Homan, who previously served as ICE's executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations before becoming the acting director, argued that sanctuary cities are hurting the ability of officials to enforce immigration laws.

“I wish these jurisdictions would work with us, wish they (would) think about the decisions they're making,” he said. “They're enticing people to come and find refuge in their city. This is not the America that should be. We didn't enforce the laws without apology and we need to take the magnet away,” he said.

“I can't blame anybody for wanting to come to the United States. There's a legal way to do it and a not legal way to do it. Millions have come to this country and become parts of it's society through the legal process. That's what we need to stick to,” Homan added.

Fox Business host Stuart Varney contrasted media and Democratic attacks on President Donald Trump with the fact that in his six months in office, America is $4 trillion richer than before Trump took office on Jan. 20.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Iran will soon have ICBMs armed with nukes by way of North Korea. Team Trump must act now

By Harry J. KazianisPublished July 22, 2017
Fox News

Now PlayingTrump administration announces new sanctions against Iran

Here’s a prediction by yours truly that you can take to the bank: In just a few years Iran will have intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, that can attack targets all over the Middle East, Europe and the United States.

And it might all be thanks to the rogue state the Trump administration has labelled the biggest national security threat of our time: North Korea.

Oh, and to twist the knife in a little deeper, those missiles could be armed with nuclear weapons—once the Iran deal expires. That is, unless America puts a stop to this threat once and for all.

Now wait a second. You’re shocked? You really shouldn’t be.

Before we get to all that, maybe we should take a step back for a moment.